Jigoshop to Magento Migration - Step-by-Step Guide & Expert Services

Seamlessly Migrate Your E-commerce Store from Jigoshop to Magento

Transitioning your e-commerce store is a critical decision that can significantly impact your business's future. For merchants currently on Jigoshop looking to scale, enhance features, or tap into a more robust ecosystem, migrating to Magento presents a compelling opportunity. Magento is renowned for its powerful capabilities, extensive customization options, and strong community support, making it an ideal choice for growing businesses.

This comprehensive guide is designed to walk you through every essential step of migrating your store data from Jigoshop to Magento. We'll cover everything from crucial prerequisites to a detailed, step-by-step migration process and vital post-migration checks, ensuring a smooth and successful replatforming journey. By following this authoritative guide, you can minimize downtime, preserve data integrity, and confidently launch your new Magento store.

Prerequisites for a Successful Migration

Before embarking on your data transfer, careful preparation is key to a smooth transition. Addressing these prerequisites will lay a solid foundation for your Jigoshop to Magento migration:

1. Secure Backups: Always create full backups of both your Jigoshop store (database and files) and your new Magento installation. This is your safety net in case any unforeseen issues arise during the data migration process.
2. Magento Installation: Ensure you have a fresh, fully functional Magento instance installed on your chosen hosting environment. It's recommended to have the latest stable version for optimal performance and security. Read our guide on How to prepare Target store for migration?.
3. Access Credentials: Gather all necessary access details for both your Jigoshop and Magento stores, including admin logins and FTP/SFTP access credentials. For a secure connection, a connection bridge will be required for both platforms. Learn more about The Short & Essential Guide to Access Credentials for Cart2Cart. We assure you, it is safe to provide your company with my access details.
4. Jigoshop Plugin Requirement: To facilitate a direct bridge connection, the Cart2Cart Jigoshop Migration module is required for your source Jigoshop store.
5. Magento Plugin Requirement: For enhanced functionality, specifically password migration, a dedicated Magento module for password migration is necessary. Additionally, a reviews table check is recommended to ensure seamless transfer of customer reviews.
6. Downtime Planning: While automated migration tools minimize active downtime, plan for a brief period where your Jigoshop store might be in maintenance mode, especially during the final data sync.
7. SEO Strategy: Prepare a strategy for preserving your existing SEO rankings. This includes identifying key URLs and planning for 301 redirects to maintain link equity and prevent broken links on your new Magento site.

Performing the Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Executing the migration involves a series of clear steps using a dedicated migration solution. While the exact interface may vary slightly by tool, the core process remains consistent.

Step 1: Initiate Your Migration and Connect Source Jigoshop Store

Begin by navigating to your migration tool's wizard. The first step involves setting up your source cart.

Select 'Jigoshop' as your Source Cart. You will then be prompted to provide your Jigoshop store's URL. As Jigoshop utilizes a 'Bridge only' connection method, you'll need to download a connection bridge file. Unzip this file and upload the 'bridge2cart' folder to the root directory of your Jigoshop installation. This bridge acts as a secure conduit for data transfer. Remember that the Cart2Cart Jigoshop Migration module is required for this connection to function correctly. Need help finding your root folder? Check out What is a root folder and where can I find it?

Step 2: Configure Your Target Magento Store

Next, you'll configure your target platform.

Choose 'Magento' as your Target Cart and enter its URL. Similar to Jigoshop, Magento also uses a 'Bridge only' connection. Download the Magento connection bridge, extract it, and upload the 'bridge2cart' folder to the root directory of your Magento installation. This establishes the necessary secure connection to your new store.

Step 3: Select Data Entities and Configure Additional Options

This crucial step allows you to define exactly what data you want to move from Jigoshop to Magento.

Review the list of supported entities and select all the data you wish to migrate. Both Jigoshop and Magento support the migration of essential entities like Products, Product Categories, Manufacturers, Product Reviews, Customers, Orders, Invoices, Taxes, Stores, Coupons, and CMS Pages. You can choose to migrate all entities or select them individually based on your needs.

Beyond basic data, you'll find a range of 'Additional Options' to tailor your migration:

• Preserve IDs: Options like Preserve Product IDs, Preserve Category IDs, Preserve Customer IDs, and Preserve Order IDs help maintain internal consistency and historical data.
• SEO URLs: Enable options for SEO URLs and 301 SEO URLs to ensure your search engine rankings are minimally impacted.
• Password Migration: This vital option requires the Magento module for password migration to successfully transfer customer passwords.
• Create Variants from Attributes: If your Jigoshop products have attributes that should become variants in Magento, select this option.
• Migrate Images in Description: Ensure product images embedded within descriptions are transferred correctly.
• Clear Target Store: This option allows you to clear current data on your Magento target store before migration, useful for fresh installations.
• Migrate Invoices: Transfer existing invoice data for complete historical records.

Step 4: Map Data Fields

Data mapping is crucial for ensuring that information from your Jigoshop store aligns perfectly with the structure of your Magento store.

You will need to map customer groups (e.g., 'Wholesale' customers) and order statuses (e.g., 'Processing', 'Completed') from Jigoshop to their corresponding equivalents in Magento. This step ensures that all customer data and order information is accurately categorized in your new platform, maintaining data integrity and a seamless user experience.

Step 5: Run a Free Demo Migration (Highly Recommended)

Before committing to a full migration, performing a demo migration is highly advised. This allows you to transfer a limited number of entities (typically 10-20 products, customers, and orders) to your Magento store.

A demo migration helps you:

• Verify the accuracy of the data transfer.
• Check the compatibility of different data types.
• Identify and resolve any potential issues or mapping errors before the full transfer.
• Familiarize yourself with the migration process.

Step 6: Initiate Full Migration

Once you're satisfied with the results of your demo migration, you can proceed with the full data transfer.

At this stage, you'll confirm the selected entities and any additional options. You may also consider purchasing a Migration Insurance Plan, which offers additional support and opportunities for re-migrations if needed. Learn more about How Migration Insurance works? Initiate the full migration, and the tool will begin transferring all your Jigoshop data to Magento. Depending on the volume of data, this process can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.

Post-Migration Steps

Once your data has been successfully transferred to Magento, a few crucial post-migration steps are necessary to ensure your new store is fully operational and optimized:

1. Reindex Magento Data: As noted in Magento's limitations, reindexing is highly recommended after migration. This ensures that your product catalog, prices, and other data are fully searchable and accessible within your Magento store. Navigate to System > Index Management in your Magento admin to perform this.
2. Thoroughly Test Your Store: Conduct extensive testing of all functionalities on your new Magento store. This includes:
   • Browsing products and categories.
   • Adding items to the cart and completing the checkout process.
   • Creating new customer accounts and logging into migrated accounts.
   • Testing search functionality.
   • Verifying all product SKUs, variants, prices, and inventory levels.
   • Checking all payment gateways and shipping methods.
3. Update DNS Settings: Once you're confident in your new Magento store's performance, update your domain's DNS records to point to your new Magento hosting.
4. Implement 301 Redirects: If you opted not to create 301 SEO URLs during migration or have specific custom URLs, set up manual 301 redirects from your old Jigoshop URLs to their new Magento counterparts. This is vital for preserving your SEO rankings and ensuring a smooth user experience, preventing broken links and lost link equity.
5. Review SEO and Metadata: Verify that all product and category metadata, descriptions, and alt tags have migrated correctly. Make any necessary adjustments to optimize for search engines.
6. Integrate Third-Party Services: Reconnect any third-party integrations, such as analytics tools, marketing automation platforms, payment gateways, or shipping providers, that you were using with Jigoshop.
7. Remove Old Jigoshop Store: Once your Magento store is fully live and stable, you can safely decommission your old Jigoshop installation.
8. Monitor Performance: Continuously monitor your new Magento store for any performance issues, errors, or unexpected behavior. Consider services like Recent Data Migration Service for incremental updates if you continue to operate the old store briefly. If you need bespoke solutions, consider our Migration Customization Service or a fully managed solution like the Ultimate Data Migration Service.

Migrating from Jigoshop to Magento is a significant undertaking, but with careful planning and the right tools, it can be a smooth and successful transition. By following this detailed guide, you're well-equipped to launch a powerful, scalable e-commerce store on Magento. Should you encounter any challenges or require expert assistance, do not hesitate to Contact Us for support.